Journey action steps overview
Learn what journey action steps are, how they differ from flow steps and triggers, and how to use them to automate messages, updates, and internal actions.
What we'll cover
1 Concepts
What are action steps?
Action steps are the parts of a journey that perform an action for a contact or for your team, such as sending an email, updating contact data, creating a CRM task, or ending a journey.
How action steps are used
Action steps are placed after an entry trigger and can be combined with waits and splits to build the full journey logic.
Note: Most action steps use the same editor pattern with Name, Settings, and Apply to which contacts.
2 Step types
Common action step groups
- Messaging: Send email, Send optimized email, Send notification email, and Site notification
- Contact updates: Update profile, Add note, Add/Remove tag, Add/Remove group, and Unsubscribe
- Journey control: Start a journey and Exit a journey
- Integrations: Webhook and CRM action steps
Use clear step names that describe the business intent, such as Send trial day 3 email or Create sales follow-up task.
3 How to use action steps
Here are the steps:
- Open the journey, and click Add.
- Add the action step to the correct place in the journey map.
- Click the step to open the editor on the right side.
- Configure the step settings, and click Save.
- Test the journey with a small internal segment before using it broadly.
Use cases and business examples
- Lead nurturing: Send a series of emails after a form submission.
- Customer onboarding: Update profile fields and tags as contacts complete milestones.
- Sales handoff: Send an internal notification and create a CRM action when a contact reaches a high-intent stage.
4 Best practices
- Use Apply to which contacts to control who should receive a step
- Put waits between major messages to avoid back-to-back sends
- Use soft stop when replacing a live journey with a newer version
- Test message and notification steps before starting the journey
Warning: If a step is not fully configured, contacts may skip that step in a running journey.
5 FAQ
FAQs
What is the difference between an action step and a flow step?
Action steps perform an action, such as sending a message or updating data. Flow steps control movement, such as waits, splits, joins, and go-to points.
Do action steps support contact criteria?
Many action steps do. Use Apply to which contacts to choose All contacts or only contacts that match criteria.
Can I add action steps after a journey is already running?
Yes. You can add and configure steps in a running journey, but test carefully because contacts may already be moving through the flow.
6 Need help?
If you need help setting up journeys, contact support. We’re happy to help.